GARDEN CITY, N.Y. – Led by 70 minutes of stellar goalkeeping from freshman Katharina Ohmen (Bremen, Germany), the Merrimack College field hockey team was able to hold off a late push by ninth-ranked Adelphi to beat the fourth-seeded Panthers by a score of 1-0 in the Northeast-10 Conference Quarterfinals on Tuesday afternoon to advance to the NE-10 Semifinals for the second straight year.

10′ – The first game of the 2016 NE-10 Championships saw some quality back-and-forth within the first 10 minutes, led off by a hard shot from senior Nicole Bradley(Essex, Mass.) that nearly snuck it for an early score, but sailed just wide of the post. Just a minute later, Adelphi would get its first chance of the game on its first penalty corner, but Ohmen would make two quality saves to keep the Panthers out of the net.

15′ – Merrimack again would barely miss out on an early score on its second penalty corner of the game, beginning with some good ball handling from junior Taylor Simpson (York, Maine) to pull Adelphi’s keeper out of the net. Two Panther defenders would cover the open goal to stop an initial shot from Simpson from going in, followed by a scrum at the face of the net on the loose rebound, but the Warriors were unable to force the ball through.

22′ – The Warriors would finally breakthrough in the 22nd minute, initiated by a great through ball from junior Mikayla Panneton (Andover, Mass.) that found classmate Rylie Hammond (Phillipston, Mass.) streaking towards the net. Hammond would fire a hard shot from straight on that rolled right past the keeper to give Merrimack the 1-0 lead and lone goal of the opening half.

39′ – The Navy and Gold came out flying early in the second half, earning three penalty corners within the first four minutes of the frame. Merrimack would manage four shots on goal on the three corners, but Adelphi’s keeper would make three quality stops, followed by a great defensive save on a sure goal for the Warriors to keep the lead at 1-0.

53′ – Despite Merrimack racking up penalty corner opportunities early in the second half, Adelphi would still manage to get the ball in the Warriors’ end and take some shots of their own. But Ohmen would continue to shine in net for the Warriors making multiple diving saves on great chances for Adelphi.

65′ – The Warriors would again have to turn to Ohmen late in the game as Adelphi continued to pressure and earned three straight penalty corners of their own. The freshman would make two of her best saves of the season near the end of the frame, diving full extension to swat two hard and high shots out of danger that would’ve found the back of the net to tie the game.

70′ – With Adelphi continuing to be favored in possession time as the clock wound down, the Panthers would again earn a penalty corner, this one with time expired for the last play of the game. But as they did all game, the Warrior defense would stymie Adelphi’s offense to end the game and advance to the NE-10 Semifinals.

Inside The Numbers

Merrimack’s win on Saturday extends their regular season-ending win streak to five games now, with Ohmen manning the net for all five games. Across those five wins, she has registered two shutouts and allowed four goals in total. Four of the five wins also came against ranked teams.

Hammond’s goal marks her team-leading 11th of the season, and also marks the second straight year she has recorded more than 10 goals.

Shots/SOG: MC – 17/15 // AU – 14/9

Corners: MC – 13 // AU – 9

Up NextThe Warriors will play in the NE-10 Semifinals at top-seeded Saint Anselm on Friday at 4:00 p.m.

Mike McMahon is in his 12th year covering Merrimack College for The Eagle Tribune and is the founder and managing editor of The Mack Report. Mike also serves on staff as a senior writer at College Hockey News. Follow him on Twitter @MikeMcMahonCHN